Coca-Cola Appeals $20 Billion Tax Dispute with IRS
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 5 hours ago
0mins
Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Tax Dispute Escalation: The Coca-Cola Company is appealing to a federal appeals court in Miami against the IRS, seeking to overturn a tax assessment that could exceed $20 billion, concerning profit reporting from 2007 to 2009.
- Profit Allocation Agreement: The dispute centers on a 1996 agreement with the IRS that governed how profits from the company's international operations were allocated, allowing foreign suppliers to retain 10% of gross sales.
- Compliance Defense: Coca-Cola stated in court filings that its '10-50-50' profit allocation method has been accepted by the IRS for years, asserting that it has complied with its tax obligations.
- Significant Financial Impact: The appeals court's decision could have major financial consequences for Coca-Cola as it seeks to resolve the multibillion-dollar dispute over the taxation of its foreign earnings.
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Analyst Views on KO
Wall Street analysts forecast KO stock price to fall
14 Analyst Rating
13 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 79.530
Low
71.00
Averages
79.33
High
85.00
Current: 79.530
Low
71.00
Averages
79.33
High
85.00
About KO
The Coca-Cola Company is a beverage company. The Company's segments include Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); Latin America; North America; Asia Pacific, and Bottling Investments. It sells multiple brands across several beverage categories worldwide. Its portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Its water, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Fuze Tea, Gold Peak and Ayataka. Its juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and Santa Clara. It operates in two lines of business: concentrate operations and finished product operations. Its concentrate operations sell beverage concentrates, syrups, including fountain syrups, and certain finished beverages to authorized bottling operations. Its finished product operations sell sparkling soft drinks and a variety of other finished beverages.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Tax Dispute Escalation: The Coca-Cola Company is appealing to a federal appeals court in Miami against the IRS, seeking to overturn a tax assessment that could exceed $20 billion, concerning profit reporting from 2007 to 2009.
- Profit Allocation Agreement: The dispute centers on a 1996 agreement with the IRS that governed how profits from the company's international operations were allocated, allowing foreign suppliers to retain 10% of gross sales.
- Compliance Defense: Coca-Cola stated in court filings that its '10-50-50' profit allocation method has been accepted by the IRS for years, asserting that it has complied with its tax obligations.
- Significant Financial Impact: The appeals court's decision could have major financial consequences for Coca-Cola as it seeks to resolve the multibillion-dollar dispute over the taxation of its foreign earnings.
See More
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